Robinson R44 N831VA

Summary

On 19 September 2025 at about 15:07 local time, a Robinson R44 registered N831VA, operated by Veracity Aviation, was involved in an accident near Decatur, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 September 2025 at 15:07

Classification

Accident

Location

Decatur, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Decatur Municipal (LUD)

Coordinates

33.2999, -97.6218

Aircraft

Robinson R44

Registration

N831VA

Category

Helicopter

Year built

2013

Engines

1

Operator

Veracity Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Worth → Fort Worth

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN25LA389

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s loss of control during an off-airport, pinnacle landing, and the flight instructor’s inadequate supervision of the instructional flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported the instructional flight initially proceeded without incident. The plan was for the pilot-receiving-instruction to work on off-airport, pinnacle landings. The pilot’s first steep approach was completed with no issues. They moved about one-half mile to the west, and the pilot initiated an approach to an elevated dirt road. The road had a hump in the middle, and the pilot intentionally remained light on the skids to ensure a stable set down. However, as the nose of the helicopter began to rise due to the hump in the road, the tail rotor blades contacted the ground. The pilot subsequently lost control of the helicopter. The helicopter came to rest on a descending embankment from the road. The forward portion of the left landing skid, the tail skid, and the aft portion of the tail boom separated. One tail rotor blade was separated near mid-span and located at the accident site. Damage to the outboard leading edge of one main rotor blade appeared consistent with contact to the tail boom. The flight instructor stated there were no failures or malfunctions associated with the helicopter before the accident. He also noted that becoming more familiar with the helicopter before moving to complex maneuvers such as an off-airport, pinnacle landing might have resulted in a different outcome.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.